In an article published by ScienceDaily, Amy Kalkbrenner, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has found evidence that has added onto past findings that links autism to air pollution. Kalkbrenner’s study found that the influence of pollution on autistic rates were similar to that of studies done in California. Kalkbrenner also found that women in their third trimester were more prone to the harmful effects of air pollution on their unborn babies.

Kalkbrenner’s research focused on PM10, a particulate matter that results from traffic-related air pollution. In order to study the effects of this matter Kalkbrenner gathered the data of children from specific regions in two different states in order to “simultaneously measure the level of particulate matter present, and know which children had autism in these regions.” In order to gather accurate information about the level of PM10 each child was exposed to the research team looked at the addresses the mothers where living in while they were pregnant. The research found that “the concentration of particulate matter was highest among children born in summer months in North Carolina and those born in fall and winter months in California.”

The author uses various types of evidence to support her claim. She uses evidence from past studies that also show similar results of finding a link between air pollution and autism which are due to the effects these pollutants have in the brain of the unborn child during the third trimester. Kalkbrenner shows evidence that supports her assumptions within her own research, which also showed “links between autism and altered brain network development.” The article and the evidence shown are both scientific because the methods that were used such as using a more precise tool to measure the amount of exposure to pollution helped to gain more accurate results. The author of the article does not seem biased, but she is able to persuade the reader in making the same assumptions by stating the results of her research and being able to support her research by using past findings. The evidence is not balanced because all the evidence that was shown was in favor of her findings and none of the evidence opposed or offered a different explanation for her findings. The findings of this article supports the idea that there is a link between autism and air pollution, in order to move on with these findings it is important to do more research in order to find out why there is a greater risk for unborn babies during the third trimester.